


Step to Hope

by RabbitKing (DJBunn3)



Category: Free!
Genre: Angst, Bonding, Day 5 - The Best Team, Drabble, Fluff, M/M, Rinharu Week 2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-11
Updated: 2016-08-11
Packaged: 2018-08-08 00:52:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7736710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DJBunn3/pseuds/RabbitKing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And then he’s back, slamming his hands on the side of the pool and screaming his name, and it’s Haru flying over Rin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Step to Hope

_01\. Touch_  
Rin’s arm is around his shoulder, and he’s leaning into Makoto as his eyes droop shut. Nagisa is passed out on the floor, snoring softly.  
“I’m glad we got to do this,” Rin says, stifling a yawn, “before I go to Australia.”  
“Me, too,” Makoto agrees. “But hey, we’ll see you again.”  
Rin’s lips press together, and he looks like he’s gonna cry. “I don’t want to leave,” he whimpers. “Not without you guys.”  
Haru closes his eyes, his thick lashes brushing his cheeks. “You’ll be fine,” he assures Rin.  
He opens them again to find he’s the only one still awake, so he Makoto against the back of the couch and Rin against the armrest. “I believe in us,” he whispers, before his eyes close as well.  
_02\. Training_  
“That’s a new record, Rei!” Kou exclaims, her large eyes twinkling in excitement. “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, but if we try hard enough, we’re sure to at least place next month!”  
“How’d I do?” Nagisa asks, bouncing up and down so the water flies off his hair and onto her clothes.  
“You need to work on your transition,” Kou replies. “It’s still a few seconds late.”  
“But I don’t want to run into Mako-chan!” he exclaims. “What if I jump too early and we both get hurt and drown?”  
“I’m sure that won’t happen.”  
Nagisa perks up. “Will Haru-chan jump into the pool and save me?” he chirps.  
Haru places his hand on Nagisa’s shoulder comfortingly. “There are lifeguards at the pool,” he says.  
_03\. Wrecked_  
When people get hurt, they heal with another layer of metaphorical armor. Some call it precautionary measures, or extra attentivity.  
Haru calls is a barrier.  
When Rin got wrecked, he came back twice as strong and twice as hard. But…  
That’s not really Rin, is it?  
_04\. Half Moon_  
The moon is waning tonight. Half of it is shrouded in darkness-- although, he thinks, it’s more accurate to say that it’s just not lit up, because darkness isn’t really anything but the lack of light-- and the other half is, well, bright.  
And, he thinks, if darkness isn’t technically tangible, how can something as bright as Rin be consumed by it so easily? Was is just the non-presence of light from a different source? What causes light to be so bright and projecting, anyway?  
_05\. Flying_  
Rin soars above Nagisa, hitting the water perfectly on angle. He’s on the other side of the pool one second before the next guy, and rocketing back toward Haru at a speed that rivals light.  
And then he’s back, slamming his hands on the side of the pool and screaming his name, and then it’s Haru flying over Rin.


End file.
